Summer Fun, Day 1

Summer Vacation has officially started

 We had so much fun today. 

J-Man keeps talking about all the Dino Activities

and of course the Slip-N-Slide.

Here is our

Day in Pictures

Here is the lizard that ran in our front door

I-Man caught him by the tail and put him in this box

J-Man and Mr. Mr. wanted a closer look, so I put him in

our old fishbowl with some sun warmed rocks

Took advatage of a learning opportunity and had

J-Man and Mr. Mr. write field notes about the lizard

They drew pictures of the lizard and asked questions about his diet.

J-Man spent most of the morning on a quest of bugs for the lizard to eat.

Getting ready for the dinosaur activities

Dino Puzzel, Dino Bingo, Make it! Dino Game

Dino Stationary Activity and Dino Egg Nest.

 

Here are the kids trying to crack open the dino eggs.

J.L. did a good job and we could see the fossil inside

A.L. with help from her Dad

K.L. found the top half of the dino

Pad of Paper and Dino Stamps

DIY Dino Stationary

M.R. making her Dino Stationary

J.L. working on his Dino Stationary

 stamping away

L.L. giving it a go

A.L. did a good job

Dino Eggs (water balloons)

I explained how to toss the water balloons to each other

but the kids had other ideas, they just tried to throw them at me.

Then we brought out the Slip-N-Slide

Slippin'

and

Slidin'

So Much Fun

I finally turned the hose off.  But they didn't care,

 they kept slidin' for another 5 minutes

What a great first day of summer vacation!

Dino Egg Fossils - DIY

The activity for Paleontology is a

 Dino Fossil Dig

I made my own, and so can you!

Materials, Plaster of Paris, Plastic Dino Skeletons,

Water, Plastic Cup, Mixing Tool, Egg Mold

Mix Plaster of Paris and Water, stir to pancake consistancy

Work quickly before it sets.

Pour mixture into Molds, then press Dino Skeletons into Mold.

Cover Dino's with more Plaster Mixture

When hardened (about 5 minutes) remove from mold

Repeat steps but do not press Dino Skeleton into Mold.

Place other half of Dino Egg on top of Mold

Remove from Mold after 5 minutes

Here is a nest of Dino Egg Fossils, ready to be excavated.

It is a messy project, but I can't wait to see the kids dig out the Dino Skeletons tomarrow.

Joy School Graduation

J-Man graduated from Joy School last night and I couldn't be happier for him. 

This was a big year for him and a leap of faith from me,

going against MD's orders to keep him home from school

because of his food alleries at the time. 

I am glad I took the leap because he made some great friends and

can't wait to start Kindergarten in seven weeks. 

Big thanks to all the Mom's in our Joy School Group for being

so understanding and willing to adjust lessons so J-Man

could participate in a safe environment.

I had the pleasure of hosting the Graduation Party in our home.

The invitations

Table Decorations

Grad Glasses

J-Man's centerpiece, glasses and bubbles

Kid's jumping for Joy!

Dana and I, presenting the certifcate and book made for each child.

J-Man's turn

J-Man holding the family flag

Now it is time to party

In the pool

little kids in little tubs

J-Man freezing after getting out of the pool

it was pretty windy.

LL and J-Man eating cupcakes and drinking hot cocoa

We enjoyed the pot Luck Dinner in which everyone contributed

We had Nacho's with Southwest Cheese Soup, Guacamole, Chicken

and SalsaChicken Salad, Potato Salad, Watermelon, Circus Popcorn,

Watermelon, Coconut Cake with sparklers

&

Pink lemonade cupcakes with lemonade frosting and

white chocolate pieces for the kids

Three  layer lemonade, pink lemonade, lemonade cake

 with lemonade frosting covered in white chocolate

Garnished with lemon slices.

So Yummy!

Congratulations to all the kids and all the Joy School Mom's and Dad's.

Here are some of the highlights

Apples to Jam

You know when you go to Costco and see those big flats of apple

and think I will never be able to eat all of those before they go bad. 

Well I bought them, not to eat but to make jam with.

Carmel Apple Jam

from my favorite cooking magazine Taste Of Home

Granny Smith Apples

Peel the apples

Keep apples in water so they don't turn brown

This is J-Man's job

Apple peels (aka "snakes") are fun to eat

J-Man with a long "snake"

Mr. Mr. got a "snake" and hurried to get down from the stool

he bumped his arm, ouch!  I-Man was quick to act

and read him a story while he iced his arm.

cut apples in half

remove the cores 

and return to water

I-Man did such a good job Mr.Mr. fell asleep.

Place bottles, lids and rims in canner

cover with water and bring to a boil

I used a mandoline to slice the apples

place apples back in water

Apple slices, 1/2 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon butter in dutch oven

Cook until apple slices are soft

1 cup sugar, 2 cups brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 tespoon allspice

3 oz Liquid fruit pectin

Jars are getting nice and hot

Apple slices are soft  then add fruit pectin

Bring to rolling boil

Add sugars and spices

Bring to rolling boil, then boil for 1 minute

Ladle into hot jars, seal with hot lids and rims

place in canner

Cover and boil for 14 minutes

Remove from canner, let sit on a towel

Lids will pop as they cool,

write the name of jam and date made on lid

Finished jar of Carmel Apple Jam

Mr. Mr. the next morning saying take my picture

I made the jars look cute with tissue paper and some lables I made on the computer

I sent some jam and rolls to the Middle School as a favor to Mrs. M.W.

Here is a picture of a caterpillar I found

J-Man is sure it will turn into a butterfly

I had one extra canning jar, perfect for watching the caterpillar grow.

Apple Pie Jam

Peel the apples

More apple peels

Place the apples in the water.

Core and slice apples

Boil the apples with 1 cup of water until apple slices are soft

add 5 cups of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of butter.

I ran out of butter so I used 1/2 teaspoon of shortning and

a decent sprinkling of butter popcorn flavor.

Add sugars and Butter/ Shortening

Stir and Bring to a rolling boil

Stir Constantly, Boil for 1 minute

add 3 oz of liquid fruit pectin

Bring to rolling boil

Remove from heat

then add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 1/4 teaspoon of allspice

fill hot jars with jam, wipe rims and remove bubbles

place lids and rims on jars

place jars in canner

Boil for 14 minutes

Remove from canner

place on mat to dry and cool

listen for the popping of the lids.

Two days of hard work

11 Jars of Carmel Apple Jam

&

12 Jars of Apple Pie Jam

Big thanks to L.G. who lent me her large stock pot.